6.10-2 Intimidation Based on Bigotry
or Bias in the Second Degree -- § 53a-181k

Revised to May 10, 2012

The defendant is charged [in count __]
with intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree. The statute
defining this offense reads in pertinent part as follows:

a person is guilty of intimidation
based on bigotry or bias in the second degree when such person maliciously, and
with specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of the
actual or perceived (race / religion / ethnicity / disability / sexual
orientation / gender identity or expression) of such other person <insert
appropriate subsection:>

§ 53a-181k (a)
(1): causes physical contact with such other person.

§ 53a-181k (a)
(2): damages, destroys or defaces any real or personal property of such
other person.

§ 53a-181k (a)
(3): threatens, by word or act, to (cause physical contact / damage,
destroy or deface any real or personal property), if there is reasonable cause
to believe that the (physical contact / property damage) will occur.

For you to find the defendant guilty
of this charge, the state must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable
doubt:

Element 1 - IntentThe first element is that the
defendant acted maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate or harass
another person because of that person's actual or perceived (race / religion /
ethnicity / disability / sexual orientation / gender identity or expression).
The state must prove not only that the defendant had the specific intent to
intimidate or harass <insert name of complainant> but that (he/she) did
so because of <insert name of complainant>'s actual or perceived (race /
religion / ethnicity / disability / sexual orientation / gender identity or
expression).

To act "with malice" means to act with
some improper or unjustifiable or harmful motive including, but not limited to,
the desire to cause pain, injury or distress to another.

A person acts "intentionally"
with respect to a result when (his/her) conscious objective is to cause such
result. <See
Intent: Specific, Instruction 2.3-1.>

The state need not prove that <insert
name of complainant> was actually of a certain (race / religion / ethnicity
/ disability / sexual orientation / gender identity or expression). It is
sufficient for the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant
perceived <insert name of complainant> to be of a certain (race /
religion / ethnicity / disability / sexual orientation / gender identity or
expression).

"Physical
disability" means any chronic physical handicap, infirmity or impairment,
whether congenital or resulting from bodily injury, organic processes or changes
or from illness, including, but not limited to, blindness, epilepsy, deafness or
hearing impairment or reliance on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or
device.

"Mental
disability" means one or more mental disorders, as defined in the most
recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

"Intellectual disability"
means a significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period. "General intellectual functioning" means the results obtained by assessment with one or more of the individually administered general intelligence tests developed for that purpose and standardized on a significantly adequate population and administered by a person or persons formally trained in test administration; "significantly subaverage" means an intelligence quotient more than two standard deviations below the mean for the test; "adaptive behavior" means the effectiveness or degree with which an individual meets the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected for the individual's age and cultural group; and "developmental period" means the period of time between birth and the eighteenth birthday.

"Sexual
orientation" means having a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality or
bisexuality, having a history of such preference or being identified with such
preference.2

"Gender
identity or expression" means a person's gender-related identity, appearance
or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior
is different from that traditionally associated with the person's assigned sex
at birth.

damaged, destroyed
or defaced any real or personal property of <insert name of complainant>.
"Real property" means real estate or land.

threatened, by word
or act, to (cause physical contact with <insert name of complainant> / to
damage, destroy or deface any real or personal property of <insert name of
complainant>), if there is reasonable cause to believe that such act will
occur. Note that it does not have to be a verbal threat but it can be an act.
Also, the (physical contact / property damage) does not have to have occurred.
It is only necessary that there was reasonable cause to believe that it would
occur. "Reasonable cause" means whether an ordinary person in the same
circumstances would believe that it would occur.

Conclusion

In summary, the state must prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant 1) acted maliciously and with
specific intent to intimidate or harass <insert name of complainant>
because of (his/her) actual or perceived (race / religion / ethnicity /
disability / sexual orientation / gender identity or expression) and 2) <insert
specific allegations re physical contact or property damage>.

If you unanimously find that the state
has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements of the crime of
intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree, then you shall find
the defendant guilty. On the other hand, if you unanimously find that the state
has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements, you shall
then find the defendant not guilty.
_______________________________________________________

The threats proscribed by §
53a-181k (a) (3) are limited to "true threats." State v. Skidd, 104
Conn. App. 46, 54 (2007). See the discussion of
true threats in the
Introduction to Breach of Peace and Disorderly Conduct.